Tunes & Tales adds taps

Two dozen young dancers will show tourists how to keep the beat with their feet on the streets of Gatlinburg, Tenn., this month.

The Kuntry Kuzin Cloggers from Ginger Brown Academy have joined the cast of Gatlinburg, Tenn.'s Tunes & Tales for the fifth consecutive year. They began performing July 1 and will be dancing on Gatlinburg's Parkway until Aug. 7.

Dressed in gingham dresses over frothy tulle petticoats, the cloggers perform Thursday through Monday nights from 5 to 10 o'clock. Visitors will find them in two locations on the Parkway: Calhoun's Restaurant and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.

Tales & Tunes is a summer promotion highlighting the mountain town's Appalachian heritage.

According to Jon Elder, Gatlinburg special events coordinator, a "collection of personalities and performers" will arrive nightly in the center of town. They will disperse down the sidewalks to locations along the Parkway for an evening of entertainment and storytelling. Mr. Elder said as many as 18 acts will perform nightly.

The Ginger Brown cloggers are billed as the "Back Porch Cloggers." The title is a reference to the origins of clogging as a dance that began in barns and on back porches.

Clogging is a dance done in time with the downbeat of the music, usually with the heel keeping rhythm. Over the decades it has incorporated steps from many ethnic influences. In later years, cloggers added taps to their shoes, which accents the percussive sounds made by the dancers. Dancing without taps is "flatfooting."

Tony Breazeale, 19, said visitors watching the cloggers often are "unfamiliar with what actual Appalachian clogging looks like, so they ask if we're tap dancing or Irish step dancing."

Like Mr. Breazeale, Leah Mulcahy of Cleveland, 19, said she has danced on Gatlinburg's streets for five summers.

"You get to meet a lot of new people. The cast is always different each year. I love to dance and clog, so it's even better having a job where you can clog."

Ms. Mulcahy said tourists love watching the younger dancers from the academy. Ms. Brown said this year's troupe of academy performers range in age from 8 to 20. They rotate groups traveling to Gatlinburg, where they stay in a chalet own by Ms. Brown. Each group is chaperoned by parents who cook the dancers' meals and wash their costumes.

In addition to the dancers, Mrs. Brown performs as "Miss Nan, the school marm," a storyteller who shares folk lore and Gatlinburg history with tourists. She is one of a cast of characters that includes Uncle Tubby, Ol' Rowdy, Smiley Burdett and Quiltin' Annie.

"Our intent is to take what we feel is one of Gatlinburg's greatest assets -- the walkability of the community -- and provide something that is fun and somewhat different than what most places are doing," said David Perella, Gatlinburg tourism director, in a news release.

If You Go

* What: Tunes & Tales.

* Where: Calhoun's Restaurant and Arrowmont along Gatlinburg, Tenn., Parkway.

* When: Nightly; Back Porch Cloggers perform 5-10 p.m. Thursdays-Mondays.

* Website: www.gatlinburg.com.